Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Without Adab (Good Manners), You Do Not Attain the Divine Presence but Vertigo.

Thank you. I would like to remain attached to the high-wire, if you don't mind.

There is no detachment only Adab (Good Manners)

Not doing anything

Is doing something,

Making an observation

Is participation,

And however you would

Like to think that you do not judge,

To a certain degree, we all judge.

But what you do with your judgment

Is entirely your own choice...

To speak, to write or to keep silent,

And in this context,

Silence often speaks volume of who you are

And who you ought to be.

.................................

Writing. And if the prose is true, then by God... how far am I from that perfection of silence! Babbling away in this almanac, on my FaceBook and Instagrams... yakedee yaking away in my writing. Hopeless.

Observations. I think it is true. For we all judge. And however we would like to take the 'Sufi' path of detachment, we still fall into error, judging everything and everyone that comes our way. Judge, judge, judge... Yet there is some truth in that we sometimes merely observe and not pass judgment. But the moment you speak, the moment you share your observation, how can it not be a judgment of sorts? And oh boy... have I been sharing my observationshere in the blog.

My son is ever concerned about my financial well-being. He is not stupid.

A Hermit? My 8-year old son Mika says that I ought to be a judge. "So you can make more money!", he assures me. But the truth is I am already a judge. Judging my way through life and collecting a jealousy here, an envy there, a bitterness here and a dollop of despair there. I have had quite enough of it already for several lifetimes already. Thanks, but no thanks. Perhaps it would be easier to run off and be a hermit on top of a mountain.

Waitaminute. Did I leave the front door unlocked?

High-wire Act. But we cannot withdraw ourselves from the world. For the way towards God in the Divine Presence (according to the Masters) is to outwardly be with people, but inwardly being constant with God... Hmm. Easier said that done that. It is a high-wire balancing act across the cosmos of our physical and spiritual existence. And the higher your knowledge, the higher your high-wire act! Oh dear. Where is my sense of balance!

Divine Vertigo. So I am resting from pursuing knowledge for awhile. And I am asking for better balance and better manners. The best of Adab as taught in the traditions of the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.s.). Too high a knowledge and I would undoubtedly attain not Divine Presence, but vertigo. Madad ya Saideena Muhammad.

No more war. I think if we only remember these simple rules, there would be less bitterness, less violence, less wars. For people would be more careful of what spills out their lips and through the ink of their pen, and insyaAllah (Godwilling), there would be no more bullets in the guns, no more missiles in the silos and no more bombs by the roadside.